The present invention relates to agents capable of removing deposits or accumulations mainly containing calcium compounds and associated other mineralized compounds by dissolving.
Dental caries is thought attributable to Streptococcus mutans growing on food particles remaining in the oral cavity after meals and consequently producing acids, which dissolve the enamel surface of teeth. On the other hand, the remaining food particles decomposed by oral microorganisms which predominantly include Streptococcus mutans form dental plaque, which adheres to the surfaces of teeth and is converted into dental calculus with time.
Dental calculus consists mainly of inorganic mineralized salts contained in saliva and deposited on the surfaces of teeth, and of organic substances derived from saliva, bacteria and food particles. Dental calculus contains 82.9% (by weight, the same as hereinafter) of inorganic substances including 30.72% of calcium, 16.85% of phosphorus, 1.044% of magnesium, 0.0196% of iron and 1.393% of carbonic acid. The calculus contains 8.34% of proteins (including keratins, mucins and nucleoproteins) and 2.7% of fats. The calculus also contains trace amounts of metals such as; copper, silver, sodium, tin, zinc, aluminum, barium, strontium and chromium, according to Encyclopaedia Chimica (Kyoritsu Shuppan Co., Ltd., Japan). The main component of the dental calculus is calcium phosphate of apatite-type structure as is found in those of teeth and bones.
The mechanism of dental calculus formation is 1) the remaining food particles involved by oral microorganisms and 2) consequently deposited calcified mineral compounds from saliva. Dental calculus also contains magnesium compounds in amounts considerably smaller than those of calcium compounds.
xe2x80x9cDental spittoonxe2x80x9d and a drainpipe connected thereto in the dental unit are used for a long period. Deposits of calcium and magnesium compounds and accumulation of non-calcified organic materials, which are generally referred to xe2x80x9cscalexe2x80x9d, are adhered on surfaces of the drainpipe. It needs common practice to periodically clean the pipe with chemical agents; hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or strong acids, or caustic soda or like strong alkali or with a chlorine compounds, to flow into the pipe and to exclude the deposit or accumulation for decomposition.
For removing the scales with such chemicals, it not only deteriorates the drainpipe but also entails the problem that the waste water resulting from cleaning gives rise to environmental pollution. Furthermore, some chemicals used in combination are likely to evolve noxious chlorine gas.
Dental calculus is formed also on dentures surface through the same mechanism as described above. Removing calculus from the denture is the same manner as tooth brushing, using an abrasive material in the past as mechanically scrubbing off the calculus compounds. It is recently used in general practice the immersed denture in a cleaning solution, then thoroughly wash the denture with water and set the denture in the oral cavity. However, the denture cleaning agent could exclude lipids and proteins and has no or little effect to remove calcium compounds.
The conventional denture cleaning agent is adapted to exhibit cleaning ability by the combination of the bleaching effect of oxidizer, cleaning effect of surfactant, substrate decomposing effect of enzyme, cleaning and decomposing effect of alkali, cleaning assisting effect of chelating agent, stirring effect due to bubbling, etc. The oxidizer having a bleaching effect or the alkali serving as a cleaning agent, if used for long times, showed the occurrence of discoloring and deteriorating the polymethyl methacrylate resin and ceramic materials which are usually used as dental materials.
Since urine contains high amounts of calculus consisting mainly of inorganic compounds, such as calcium oxalate, the toilet bowl for use in daily and the drainpipe or the like connected thereto have the problem of calcium deposition on the inner wall of the pipe during a long period of use as seen the same in the drainpipe of the dental equipment.
An object of the present invention is to provide an agent for effectively removing deposits comprising substances discharged from the living body, especially deposits containing calcium and magnesium compounds.
The removing agent of the present invention is useful for cleaning dentures and also suitable for use in dental spittoon and drainpipes connected thereto, toilet devices and drainpipes connected thereto, and various drainpipes installed in the transportation means such as trains, vessels and aircraft, i.e., for uses involving the necessity of removing scale containing calcium compounds or magnesium compounds and deposited on inside of pipe walls.
The present invention provides an agent for removing calcium compounds and magnesium compounds, the agent being a composition comprising at least a hydroxycarboxylic acid and a sulfamic acid.
The agent of the invention for removing calcium compounds and magnesium compounds comprises a base composition containing at least a hydroxycarboxylic acid and a sulfamic acid and is prepared by mixing 5 to 100 parts by weight of a binder with 100 parts by weight of the base composition, and shaping the resulting mixture.
The hydroxycarboxylic acid to be used is, for example, at least one acid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, malic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, hydroacrylic acid, alpha-hydroxybutyric acid, glyceric acid, tartronic acid, salicylic acid, m-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, mandelic acid and tropic acid.
The sulfamic acid to be used is, for example, amidosulfamic acid.